Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Early Joy Pink.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Early Joy Pinkxe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lompoc, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with uniform plant habit and attractive flower bract coloration.
The new Poinsettia is a induced mutation of the Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar Early Joy, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/447,5973, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,391. The new Poinsettia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of irradiated plants of the cultivar Early Joy in a controlled environment in Lompoc, Calif. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract coloration and uniform plant habit.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminal cuttings taken at Lompoc, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Early Joy Pinkxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Early Joy Pinkxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Uniform plant growth habit.
2. Dark green-colored leaves with reddish-colored petioles.
3. Early flowering habit.
4. Inflorescences with pink-colored flower bracts.
5. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the parent cultivar in flower bract coloration as plants of the cultivar Early Joy have red-colored flower bracts.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,808. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Lompoc, Calif., plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Poinsettia had darker green-colored leaves than plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink.
2. Plants of the new Poinsettia had reddish-colored stems and leaf petioles whereas plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink had green-colored stems and leaf petioles.
3. Plants of the new Poinsettia had larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink.
4. Plants of the new Poinsettia had broader flower bracts than plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink.
5. Plants of the new Poinsettia had slightly darker pink-colored flower bracts than plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink.
6. Plants of the new Poinsettia flowered about 1.5 weeks earlier than plants of the cultivar V-14 Pink when flowered under controlled photoperiods.